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The Third Reich 'n Roll is a parody and satire of pop music and commercials from the 1960s. It consists of two side-long pastiches of various songs from the period; some are obvious, while others are almost unrecognizable. Although none of the songs are named on the album, The Residents' first website listed the tracks as the following:[2]

Considered by some to be a very early form of a mashup album, The Third Reich 'n Roll features what is thought to be the first commercially released record to sample James Brown, borrowing a horn hit directly from the original King Records 45 of "...Brand New Bag" on "Swastikas on Parade". This sample predates rap music's adaptations of Brown riffs, beats, and soundbites by about 15 years.

The album generated some controversy due to its cover art, which featured television entertainer Dick Clark in a Nazi uniform holding a carrot while surrounded by swastikas and pictures of a dancing Adolf Hitler in both male and female dress. A version was marketed in the 1980s for German consumption which heavily censored much of the cover art by stamping the word "censored" over every Nazi reference.

In 1980, a Third Reich 'N' Roll Collectors Box was produced in a limited edition of 30 copies of which 25 were released. These came with a hand pressed red marbled vinyl edition of the record with silk screened sleeve and labels, in a velvet-lined black wooden box with a sliding panel featuring hand-screened version of the cover art. Also enclosed are two signed and numbered lithographs by Irene Dogmatic. The entire box was enclosed in a drawstring bag made from a piece of Christo's work Running Fence.[3]

The Residents recorded a full version of The Swingin' Medallions' "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" in 1987 during the sessions for God in Three Persons, and incorporated it into the score of their 1989 touring production Cube-E.

The 1993 CD reissue by Euro Ralph included brand new cover art, featuring Adolf Hitler holding a carrot and Madonna holding a Resident eyeball head. All swastikas were eliminated from this version of the cover. An ultimate special edition hardbook containing all the original artwork and the full photo-session was released on Mute Records in September 2005.

The album was definitively reissued in 2018 as part of The Residents' pREServed remaster campaign, featuring the "Satisfaction" and The Beatles Play The Residents and The Residents Play The Beatles singles, the 1976 "Oh Mummy, Oh Daddy" live performance, and a number of previously unheard outtakes. This reissue also featured a newly updated cover design, derived from the early 1980s German censored version.